Hey Guys - just replaced the stock pzero's on my 2017 R with a set of "continental extreme contact DWS 06 plus XL" aside from the pilot sport 4s's these seemed to be highly regarded on the forum and I liked the idea that they were a little more "comfortable". Since the install the handling of the car has felt very strange... cornering on highways at speed feels terrifying the car feels like it's drifting a bit initially then seems to calm down and also seems like there is a little play in the steering.

initially i thought the "looser" feel was maybe a trade off with opting for more comfortable tires, but i definitely think something isn't right! Could this be something as simple as alignment, or any other potential causes? i checked the tire pressures and already upped from 35 to 37psi...

welcome any thoughts and anything i can check at home prior to taking it back to the tire installer next week!

cheers guys!

 

Do you have a torque wrench? Check the lug nuts - 92 lb/ft is the spec.

It can take a bit of time to break in new tires. What do they say - 50 miles to wear off the mold release compound, something like that?

 

Since the contis are all weather tyres I would expect them to handle worse than pure summer tyres like the P Zeros. Could it be that you haven't broken them in yet? How many miles have you put on them so far?

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I have probably put just about 75 miles on them, so not a lot so far. I had no idea about mold release compound!

With the steering play I was concerned about the lug nuts, i checked they were tight but don't have a torque wrench so not sure exactly how tight.

I plan on taking them back to the tire shop for them to check nothing is awry, but with the feedback so far maybe I'll put a few miles on 'em first (and try to be less heavy with the right foot in the mean time )

 

All good tire manufactures have a satisfaction guarantee. Make sure you decide whether to keep them or not within the allotted time. Obviously you need to check this out with your retailer. I will say, if you went through The Discount Tire store, they literally mean “What Ever It Takes”. Shameless plug for the hometown boys back in A2.

 

The easy things to check, as others have said and you have done, are tire pressures and lug torque values.

Did you get an alignment done when you had the new tires installed? If so, I would be highly suspect that the alignment is causing your issue. Depending on the alignment, lots in the geometry could have been changed enough that would give the car a different feel, regardless of what tires are on it. The car could have been out of spec and is now back in spec but feels different to you (or the opposite is true, where the installer messed up the alignment or adjusted something to the extreme ends of acceptable parameters).

If you did NOT get an alignment and just put on the new tires only (not recommended, but people do it anyway), then it's possible you have a tire with a bad cord/belt (rare, but it happens) which is causing the car to pull/dart in a direction because the tire doesn't want to roll true.

 

When I put the Continental tires on mine I noticed when cornering hard I felt a little give in the wheel.... My tire guy said it was because I was running the Pirelli's for the past couple of years with less than half the tread, and the depth of the new tread has just a little give in it... He said they will squirm more than worn tires... Either way I forgot about it after a month or so and really prefer the Continentals...

 

Thunder Dump - yep alignment was done, or at least billed for, that is the main reason i was planning to go back to the installer.

rtmyers1, squirmy is a good word for it! it was a butt clenching moment when I first felt it doing around 90 and going round a long sweeping bend on the highway! My Pzero's were VERY worn, but really felt solid and there was no squirm/drift when cornering. I have definitely found them a lot more comfortable so far when driving around town etc.

thanks all for the feedback, much appreciated!

 

Hey, we learned about the difference in NEW tires years ago. ('Way before the Jag)

Had new tires fitted, drove home...but on the way, took one curve at the same speed as with the old tires.

Ended up on the other side of the road!!! Luckily there was no oncoming traffic nor roadside objects to hit.

Moral of the story is, to take it slow for a few hundred miles.



PS: It wouldn't hurt to raise your concern to the tire installer now... in case you find that you still don't like the steering feel after the 'break-in' period.

 

There is a big difference between the Continental extreme contact DWS 06 plus and the Continental Extreme Contact Sport. One is an all season tire, the other is a summer/sport tire. The latter are what competes with the Michelins.

 

Thanks Buff, definitely not something I have experienced before, but sounds like your experience was even more of a butt clencher!! in my situation that would have resulted in grinding against the concrete central reservation so very glad it didn't come to that!!

This is my first "higher" performance car, so i think i'll chalk this one up to a lack of experience!

 

Oh man, what a dumb ***! i bought via tire rack, and yep have purchased the wrong tires... oh well expensive mistake!

 

Many here run the DWS06 - it’s a fine tire. But it’s all-season (DWS=Dry, Wet, Snow), which you may not need in GA.

 

This. Have these tires and don't have issues...but it took about 200 miles to wear off the top junk...

4k miles now. 1mm of wear total so will get 20-30k or more in the rears...so I am quite happy. No issues. Now on 20" oem rims....265/305 SVR sized without issue. Stock alignment. No, not as sharp as a full on track tire but it was 48 degrees here today and we have been having monsoons weekly...so the best tire by far in my world. Michelins are great tires too...but in my experience they get noisy. These things hold high lateral G's....don't forget to keep on the throttle as you take a corner....

BTW, way better than the Pzerro tires that came stock. Way. Those are the worst tire I have ever had that were "high performance summers" ....not sure why...they had 80% tread on them and I just let them go to the shop (they probably sold them to someone by now). Tire pressure matters too....

Good luck.


jb

 

When I had these put on, I asked the dealer to do a Road Force balancing, as well as an alignment.

https://www.tirereview.com/when-is-it-overkill/

Bought a 2018 Corvette with Michelin Pilot Sport Run Flats All season and driving it home from the dealer experienced that "floating" feel on the front end. Disappeared after the first couple hundred miles. Same with Continental Conti Eco Contacts on my 2013 Rabbit... "floaty" feel, which subsequently disappeared.

 

After chatting with tire rack's customer service team they have confirmed what a number of you have said about the mold release compound and that especially on higher performance vehicles if you drive harder it would have a noticeable impact on the handling.

They also offer a 60 day buy and try, I'll stick with these for a bit to see how they perform once worn in a bit and then if need be can swap out for the summer tires!

thanks all!

 

I put the DWS06 plus on my SVR to replace the Pzero and I'm a few thousand miles in and very happy with them. Felt a bit 'different' at first but I wasn't pushing it hard. All great now. And I like that I can still use the car on cold nights in the shoulder period before I put it away for winter. Maybe not as much issue in Georgia. But I found once temp was down into the high 30s on a cold road the grip on the pZero was almost undrivable.

 

Thanks for the feedback BritCars! i was oblivious to the mold compound issue and a few folks have said they rate the DWS06 plus, so i plan to give them a shot. We definitely don't get a lot of snow down here but thunderstorms/downpours are common so they could be useful.

I've also started noticing a knock in the front driver wheel area, so wondering if i have a suspension issue that could be contributing to the poor handling i was experiencing as well as the mold release compound. My rear brakes are due for replacement (actually have brake light on!) so i'll get that checked too and hopefully everything will feel better once that's addressed and the tires are bedded in.

 

I have Conti ExtremeContact DWSs on my wife's XJL. I have also had them on a BMW 3 series and found them to be good tires for what they are which is a soft sided all season tires. I would expect them to feel just like you described due to the flexy sidewalls and they are quite susceptible to road hazard damage for the same reason.

 

The DWS06 PLUS fixed the soft siedwalls. I had tried the DWS06 (not plus) and hated them...went Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+....they were much better but were loud and grew really loud by half used....traded that car in for the F type. It came with the P zero's. They (the OEM rubber) are horrendous and were immediately switched out. Did research...the DWS06plus in SVR sizing it ultimately was...much better sidewall than the non-plus version....so please note if not "plus" just not the same tire and not fair to complain about the sidewall...the sidewall issue has been fixed in the PLUS version.